Advocaat bullish that South Korea can shock world again

Dick Advocaat has spoken of his delight at being involved in the World Cup finals again. The former Netherlands and Rangers manager wants his South Korea side to hit the ground running today when they face Togo in their opening game in Frankfurt.

"I am very excited that we are about to get under way," he said. "I have worked from September until now and had a great time in Korea. Everyone is very positive going into the World Cup. We have a fully-fit squad to call on, so there is a good feeling in the camp."

South Korea are aiming to emulate their performance in the 2002 World Cup when they reached the semi-finals on home soil.

Advocaat believes they can surprise a few people. "This squad is very disciplined," he said. "We have good skills and our biggest strength is our team spirit. Everyone works for each other, no-one comments if someone makes a mistake. European people like to talk and I am one of them. Korean people follow the leader, so they are doing a good job. They are nice to work with, so friendly."

The South Koreans lost their last warm-up game to Ghana but Advocaat added: "We are well prepared and hopefully we will improve on that result."

The roof will be closed at Frankfurt's Waldstadion for today's Group G match to help eradicate distracting shadows.